Press freedom campaigners call for action on 'vexatious lawsuits’

In an open letter to Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, and Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, the Observer’s editor, charities and campaigners urge new legislation to stop the abuse of defamation law.

This is the text of the letter, which was published in The Observer on
Sunday 21 July:

Following the recent global conference on media freedom held in London by
the UK government, we write to draw your attention to what appears to be a
growing trend to use strategic litigation against public participation
(“SLAPP”) lawsuits as a means of intimidating and silencing journalists
working in the public interest.

Such legal threats are designed to inhibit ongoing investigations, and
prevent legitimate public interest reporting. Abuse of defamation law,
including through SLAPP lawsuits, has become a serious threat to press
freedom and advocacy rights in a number of countries, including the UK.

Fears have been expressed in the UK and abroad, and by the European
parliament that this legal tactic was being deployed against the murdered
Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who at the time of her death in
October 2017 was subject to 42 civil libel suits against her, many of which
were brought through UK-based law firms, acting for foreign banks and
wealthy individuals. Twenty-seven of these vexatious lawsuits remain open
more than 21 months after her assassination. A range of other Maltese media
have faced threats of similar suits, including investigative outlet the
Shift News.

Numerous legal and online threats have been made against Carole Cadwalladr,
whose journalism for the Observer and a range of other publications has
stimulated a global debate about the power of online platforms to influence
the behaviour of citizens, and raised important questions about the
regulation of digital technology.

The legal claim against Ms Cadwalladr, issued on 12 July by lawyers acting
for Arron Banks, is another example of a wealthy individual appearing to
abuse the law in an attempt to silence a journalist and distract from these
issues being discussed by politicians, the media and the public at a
critical time in the life of our democracy.

The increasing deployment of what appear to be SLAPP lawsuits in the UK
poses a threat to media freedom and public interest advocacy, and demands a
robust response. We believe that new legislation should be considered to
prevent the abuse of defamation law to silence public interest
investigative reporting. We also urge you to take a clear public stance
condemning such practices and supporting investigative journalism and
independent media.

We urge you to address this issue as a matter of priority. Action has been
discussed within the institutions of the European Union, but it is
important that the government makes clear that the UK remains a country
that welcomes and celebrates the role and value of independent public
interest reporting.

Given the importance of this issue, we would welcome a meeting with you to
discuss this matter further.